27.10.13

Bootle v Everton- The Original Merseyside Derby

Everton, 1881

Everton had been in existence for some 14 years before the breakaway that led to the formation of Liverpool. Formed as St Domingo's in 1878, their first great rivalry was with another Merseyside club, Bootle. Bootle was founded in 1879 as Bootle St John's by Rev. Alfred Keely who had moved to the area to become the Curate of St John's church. He was a keen association player, though at the time Rugby football was more popular in the area. The team was made up of former public schoolboys. When Rev. Keely moved south in 1882 these chaps defected from Bootle and formed another club, Liverpool Ramblers.

Bootle won the first ever Liverpool Senior Cup in 1883 and again in 1888 and 1889. Everton won the Liverpool Senior Cup 12 times in 18 seasons in the 19th century. Some conspiracy theorists state that Bootle were the strongest team on Merseyside in the 1880s, and that Everton achieved their place in the Football League under William McGregor's one club per town rule due to either bribery or Freemasonry.The head to head results between the two clubs suggests that Everton were in fact the more deserving of the 2, Bootle's ascendancy being confined to the 1880 and 1883 seasons. Whereas Everton became founder members of the Football League, finishing the first season in 8th place, Bootle were among the teams that formed the The Combination for the 1888-89 season. They applied unsuccessfully to join the League in 1889 and 1890 and were finally admitted in 1892. Financial difficulties led to Bootle resigning after one season, their place in the league being taken by Liverpool. In compiling the list of results I consulted Tony Onslow's The Forgotten Rivals and backed this up with my own research using the archives of the Liverpool Mercury.